Improvement in marine cradles for hoisting and lowering boats



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

VILLIAM IV. HANNAH, 'OF HUDSON, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN MARINE CRADLES FOR HOISTING AND LOWERING BOATS.

Specification farming part of Letters Patent No. 146,672., dated January20, 1874; application filed May 20, 1873.

To all-whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. HANNAH, of Hudson, in the county ofColumbia and State ofv N ew York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Boat Hoisting and Launching Apparatus; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification, in which- I Figure l is a perspective view; Fig. 2, anelevation, showing the boat raised, and Fig. 3, an elevation, showingthe apparatus lowered.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawings denote thesame parts.

The object of this invention is, primarily, to provide for public use aboat hoisting` and launching apparatus for vessels, by means of which aboat can be readily and safely lowered into or raised out of the water,however rough the sea may happen to be; and, secondarily,

to so construct the apparatus that it can be used for rescuing personsfrom the water and hoisting them on board, for hoisting the boat itselfin upon deck, and in place of davits or cranes for the permanentsuspension of the boat out of the water at the side or stern of thevessel or at the side of the pier or landing. To these ends, myinvention consists, rst, in a peculiarly-constructed basket or cradlefor the support of the boat, which entirely surrounds it, so that theboat or persons falling into the water will be securely held thereinwithout danger of slipping out from the pitching of the vessel; and,secondly, in the co1n bination of said basket or cradle with suitablehoisting and fastening apparatus, substantially as hereinafter setforth.

In the drawings, S is the wall of the vessel or pier; and B is the boat,resting in a cradle or basket, O, the upper part of which is of theshape of a horizontal section of the boat, and

slightly larger, the bottom of the cradle being a horizontal rod onwhich the keel rests, which is suspended, by rods, chains, or'ropes r,from the ends of a straight or bent arm or arms, d, articulated to thewall S, andv raised or lowered by means of ropes and pulleys h, or atackle and fall supported by one or more strong standards, p, suitableprovision being made for belaying the ropes so as to retain the boatpermanently in the position shown in Fig. 2, whenever desirable.

The important feature of `my invention con- 'sists in the employment ofan open basket or The arms d when used with the cradle c, as shown inthe drawings, may be made to diverge from a single supporting-plate,although I prefer to attach them to the shafts, as represented.

Then desirable to hoist the boat in upon deck, or upon the pier, theshaft e, or other pivot, should be arranged nearly or quite at the topof the gunwaleor pier, and the pulleys over which the ropes h pass atthe top of the standards should be arranged upon a cross-bar connectingthe standards, so as to let the arms l swing yin between the standardsto bring the boat over the deck, when it can readily be lowered tcplace.

rJlhe ropes h may be wound upon a windlass or reel, ze, if preferred, tosecure their simultaneous and equal movement, and a ratchet and pawl maybe provided to prevent any accidental retrograde movement of mthemeehanism.

I am aware that a marine cradle has hereto- -fore been employed in whichtwo bands pass around the bottom. of the boat near its bow and stern,saidcradle being raised and lowered by blocks and tackles; and 1therefore lay no claim to such invention, as the boat in y this case isextremely liable to slide from the ends of such cradle in launching orhoisting it up, or when the boat is suspended from the sides or stern ofthe vessel, from the rolling or pitching of the latter, the cradle notentirely surrounding and securely holding the boat;

nor could such a cradle obviously be employed strueted es described7 incombination with a as effectively as mine in rescuing personsfallsuitable hoisting apparat-us, as and for the puring into the Water,which is one of the objects pose set forth.

of my invention. XV. YV. HANNA'H.

I elaini as my invention- \Yitnesses: y, A marine cradle entirelysurrounding a boat MELVILLF. H'URCH. to be launched from 01' hoisted toa vessel, con- L. HILL.

